[Dixielandjazz] Dressing up your presentations

[Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis]

For a long time after becoming interested in OKOM I was amazed at the knowledge of some people about this music and there were band leaders who could rattle off interesting things about the tunes.  This had to come from years of experience which by the way I didn't have.  Oh yeah I knew about Louis Armstrong and W.C. Handy but that was about it.

The internet is a wonderful place to gather information but that takes awhile and a lot of time.  There is either too much information or none and when you have a library of 500 tunes that could take forever.

Several years ago I was using a singer that had a very interesting book titled "Who Wrote That Song" by Dick and Harriett Jacobs.  I went on line to see if I could get a copy and found that it was hopelessly out of print and that no one had a copy.   So I cranked up my copy machine and copied the whole thing.

"Who Wrote That Song" lists copyright dates, composers,  who were the artists and bands that popularized it, who recorded it and the year.  Also, if it was a #1 hit or in a show or film.  If you need more depth then you need other sources but for my purposes this is enough.

I did a little research on Amazon.com   

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002-6271266-3350414?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=who+wrote+that+song    

found about 16 copies and ordered a copy.  It wasn't available when I tried several years ago. They start at $16.95 for used and $61.95 for hard cover.  I think the hardcover is a newer edition.  I think the libraries are getting rid of their copies.  The listing goes up to about 1985.

Not every tune is in this book but many are.  Out of 12 tunes that I looked up last night two weren't in there.

Since I started DJ'ing my programs, telling the audience a little about the tune and history, I have been doing better with my presentation. This book gives me just what I needed.
Larry
St. Louis

Editorial Reviews

>From Library Journal
Music industry jack-of-all-trades Jacobs has compiled an index of over 12,000 popular songs spanning everything from parlor songs of the mid-1800s to top 40 hits of the 1980s. Arranged alphabetically by song title, entries include composer, lyricist, publication date, and relevant special information. Cross-indexing by composer is also provided, as are appendixes noting award-winning songs/songwriters and a trivia quiz. Interspersed throughout are Jacobs's numerous anecdotes and stories. Libraries shopping for a one-volume ready reference source will find this useful, but the undisputed champ of the genre is still Nat Shapiro's Popular Music (Gale, 1964+). For libraries with this standard reference set, Jacobs's book is an unnecessary duplication. Barry Miller, Austin P.L, Tex.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.